Rotary prize caps day to remember for graduate Anna

September 26, 2023

NESCol graduate Anna Keller is embarking on a career in accountancy as she follows a passion for the subject that can be traced back to her school days.

She spent a lot of time within the Business Department at Peterhead Academy and believes the teachers there were instrumental in setting her on her career path and building confidence.

The goal was to progress to university and she is currently working towards an accountancy degree at RGU after successfully completing her HND in Accounting at NESCol.

Anna, who was the recipient of the coveted Rotary Club of Fraserburgh’s Endeavour Award at Saturday’s graduation ceremony, said: “I am wheelchair-dependent so I wanted a career that would be flexible and open the door to lots more possibilities. Accountancy offers this – the opportunity to work anywhere in lots of different fields.

“I want my career to enrich my life. Having cerebral palsy means that that I face a lot of challenges – sometimes just getting from A to B can be difficult – so my career choice has to work with my disability.“

Anna studied for her Highers during Covid. Her grades were based on her preliminary examination results and were not as good as she hoped they would be.

She said: “It was a hard time for me. My grades were below what I thought I could achieve and lockdown knocked my confidence. I’m a triplet so I’m never short of friends, but I was anxious about entering the wider world again after the pandemic.

“College seemed to be a no brainer to me. It was close by – just one bus ride away in Fraserburgh – and allowed me to build my confidence back up again. I saw it very much as a stepping stone, the first part of my journey towards an accountancy degree at university. Now I have achieved my HND Accounting I begin my degree at RGU, going straight into the third year.”

Anna is also currently learning to drive and added: “I am so excited and hope this will help me get a part time job as well. I’m proud of how far I’ve come – I hope that I can take what I have learnt here and grow even more.”